Players not united in party sleaze

With the bad press footballers have received over the past week - mainly to do with Premier League clubs' Christmas parties - I'd like to make it clear players can go out and enjoy themselves without getting into trouble.

With the bad press footballers have received over the past week - mainly to do with Premier League clubs' Christmas parties - I'd like to make it clear players can go out and enjoy themselves without getting into trouble.

We thoroughly enjoyed our Christmas do last week and well done Phil Gulliver, Entertainments Manager, for organising it.

I've heard calls from the likes of Alan Curbishley (below) to ban Christmas parties. Does he really think this well help?

I guess its different at our level. While Manchester United have a £4,000-a-head do, at Rushden & Diamonds we had to beg, borrow and steal our way into clubs.

We use the money made through our players' fines system - special thanks to Dean Howell and Simeon Jackson for their continued investment - to pay for the meal, then in groups of twos and threes have £20 whips and enjoy bottle after bottle of Becks. Two for one in some Wetherspoons!

We returned to our three-to-a-room Travelodge, and in the morning cured hangovers with a Little Chef Olympic Breakfast. But I bet with the banter we had, we enjoyed ourselves even more.